It started to echo through our cell, and I was about ten seconds from slapping my hands over my ears when something far worse distracted me. Cells started flying down the center row – like literally the entire six feet by six feet box, bars and occupants included – two at a time, starting from the end farthest from the podium. Jessa and I stared bug-eyed as a set of unicorns and another water-filled cage of mermaids dashed past.
My heart clenched as I caught sight of the supes' faces. Even with their foreign features I could tell they were afraid.
"Holy shit," Jessa was murmuring under her breath. "Come on, Compasses."
If this was a fight club, or something far worse, it was clear that these horrible beings had been doing this for a long time. The boys were not going to have an easy time finding this place. We just had to hope they got here before it was too late.
The two boxes which had zoomed past us were deposited on the podium, one on either side of the man with the staff. Jessa and I weren't the only ones glued to the front of our prisons trying to see what was going on. Most of the other cages occupants were too. I was pressed so tightly against the bars my belly was getting a little squished, but luckily baby Compass wasn't giving me hell for it.
My attention flicked back to the cage in front of us. Okay, everyone was staring at the platform except the hellhound. It was still eyeing me like I was dinner for tonight. Get in line, buddy. I returned my gaze to the staff guy. The cages on the stage were now open and the inhabitants were standing before the crowd. Let me just say, the mermaids did not look impressed to be on dry land. It seemed only a force of magic was keeping them upright.
Staff guy started to talk. We could hear every word loud and clear.
"Welcome, and thank you all for coming to our sale. We have some truly spectacular offerings tonight. None of you will leave here disappointed. Warning: do not bid beyond your means, we offer no second chances. You will make payment or you will forfeit your life."
He slammed his staff down and the floor shook. Even all the way under our cage.
It looked as if the inhabitants of the seats around the stage were shifting slightly, but I still couldn't get a clear view of whether they were human or supe or … other.
Staff guy continued: "First on the sale block we have two unicorns from the Land of Illusion and Bespelling in Faerie. Prized for many magical properties, the dust and residue of their horns are key components in many dark magics. Their hides will keep you hidden and protected, and their blood will rejuvenate and heal. We're going to sell them separately. Let the bidding begin."
"It's a supe smuggling ring," I whispered to Jessa, tendrils of freak-the-hell-out clear in my voice. "They're going to purchase us like slaves and then do whatever the hell they want with us all."
She didn't answer but I could feel her agony and fury. There was nothing we could do but stand and watch, waiting for our turn to end up on stage.
One by one, cages flew past us and the inhabitants were sold to the absolutely despicable excuses for human or supe in the audience. The price of purchase ranged from dragon toenails to a spell for eternal youth. Apparently that spell was worth a fortune in the human world, which made it very valuable to the staff-wielding asshole selling off supes.
I had no idea what the little cloaked being sitting very close to the platform was, but he now owned a unicorn, two ogres, three pixies, a witch from the original bloodline of Norta, half a mermaid – apparently they could just slice her right down the middle and go halfsies on her heart – and a bunch of other supernatural creatures.
From what we'd seen the majority of the cages held demi-fey, but there was certainly a mix of the other races also. Including a rare white tiger shifter, who had a thatch of white-blond hair and eyes which were such a piercing shade of light blue that I could see them all the way from my cage. He went to a female standing in the shadows. Two guesses what she wanted the stunning male for. There had also been two human lots. They were sold just the same as the supes, and went for one of the highest prices so far.
"How is this happening?" I murmured. "How are they getting away with this?"
Jess had been very silent, but I could feel the vibrations shaking her entire figure. Her fury was barely contained.
"I'm going to kill every single asshole in here," she said slowly through clenched teeth. "One way or another, this will be stopped. We just have to figure out a way around that staff's control."
That was easier said than done. It didn't matter which creature, race member, or other, stepped out of those cages, they seemed to be completely under the mercy of the staff's control. Then, once they were sold, magical bands were strapped onto their wrists, or legs, or whatever appendage they had handy, and they were immediately immobilized, ready to be transported by their new owner.
Owner. Okay, I was totally with Jessa. We were killing them all.
Who knew I had such a bloodthirsty side? Probably my wolf's influence. She was practically howling inside of me; my stomach churned as dread filled my gut. Luckily I was past the worst of the morning sickness and could control my gag reflex, or Jessa and I would find this prison even less comfortable.
Two more cages flew past us and I missed the inhabitants this time because I was too busy noticing that there were only two more cages on the right side of us. Pretty soon we were going to be up there on the stage. Shit … us and the hellhound.
"Lot two hundred and sixty-six: a pair of love birds from the Alaskan region. These mythical and rarely seen pairs mate for life. Their wings contain essence which will brew a true-love potion. These will sell together, as to separate them means instant death. Bidding will start at … thirty pints of sorcerer blood, from the mage at the front … "
While the furious bidding ensued for the love birds, which were seriously two of the cutest fairytale-looking creatures I'd ever seen, Jessa and I started to whisper out a plan.
"I think if we stay connected to each other, it's going to be harder for him to control us," she said. "There's strength in a twin bond, not to mention we both carry Compass babies. If anything is going to give us the ability to withstand the control, it's the power of the quads. They're like born of the freakin' gods or something."
I nodded a few times, a slice of me hoping for the best, but more of me expecting that things were going to go to hell really fast.
Truth was, we could not let ourselves fall into the grasp of any of that crowd out there. They were here for terrible reasons, and the creatures that they purchased were all going to suffer horribly at their hands. It would be better to die than to let that happen.
But we also had our babies to think of. So there was no choice but to fight until our very last breath.
The bidding finished up on the love birds. Next was an arctic yeti. Standing well over ten feet tall, pure white with fur that looked as soft as a lamb, the poor thing just stood there blinking large, obsidian eyes. I couldn't see the details clearly, but I was sensing panic and confusion and fear.
I found myself growling then, and it was so wolf-like that I had to be impressed. I'd never managed the very deep rumbling growl like that before. Jessa did it almost daily. Especially if her breakfast wasn't ready when she sat down.
"If we get out of here, Jess," I said through clenched teeth as my anger took control, "we do not stop until we figure out who is behind this and we kill them. Then we track down every single one of these assholes here who thinks it's okay to buy living creatures like they're nothing more than objects, and we make them all pay."
Jessa blinked exaggeratingly slow for a few moments, before the hugest grin I'd ever seen crossed her face. "Firstly, great job with the cursing. Secondly, you and I are on the exact same page about how this is all going to go down."
We were cut off by the rattling of the cages next to us, before they flew past. The poor supes inside were next on the chopping block, which meant we were only minutes from our turn on the stage.
Jessa and I waited in silence, our hands linked. The seconds seemed to pass by so fast. Then, as our cage started to shake and detach itself from the row, I reached out and grabbed onto the bars with my free hand. Crap! It was time. Despite the fact I was prepared to do everything in my power to free us from this mess, I still couldn't halt my final thought.
Maximus Compass, if you're coming for us, now is the time to get here.
Maximus Compass
I was going to kill Louis. Or at least give it a damn good shot. What the hell was taking him so long? The sorcerer was currently doing something meditative as he tried to figure out how to get to the land between. The red haze, which seemed to be a permanent part of my vision now, crashed down again, and I was about to lunge toward the magic user when the heavy whooshing of Braxton's wings distracted me.
We all turned toward the dragon, waiting for him to descend back down through the gap in the tree line.
Tyson's normally laidback, happy tone had been replaced by something angry and dark. "Do you think he found anything?"
"No, he'll not have found anything, because they're not here on Earth any longer," Louis said, getting to his feet.